Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM’s address at Republic TV summit
Shri Arnab Goswami ji, all the dignitaries present here, the entire team of Republic TV, Republic India, all the distinguished guests and friends.
The last time when I was here, Republic TV was the centre of discussion; but now you have established Republic India as well. Arnab was just saying that you have plans to launch regional channels shortly and are also preparing for global presence. I wish you all the best for the same.
Friends, this day also marks 70 years of our Constitution. It is a historic day. I congratulate you and all the viewers of Republic TV for this event and Constitution Day.
Friends, who knows better than you how the journey that began with 'Nation wants to know’ and culminated in ‘Nation first! The entire country has witnessed this transformation in the last five years. In the last first five-six years, only questions, questions and more questions used to be thrown at the public and the media. And it seemed as if a recorded bulletin was being played and everything was being repeated. Usually stories were on topics like - scams of thousands of crores of rupees; the next week news channels would carry stories of scams of lakhs of crores of rupees, sometimes of corruption charges; sometimes of bomb blasts in Mumbai, Delhi, and Jaipur; sometimes of blockade in North-East; sometimes of skyrocketing inflation! That is, if one bulletin was over, the next day the same bulletin would be repeated with the same news. Now the country has come a long way leaving those conditions and circumstances behind. Now solutions are being talked of instead of problems and challenges. Today, the country can see how the decades-old problems are being solved. And sometimes people are even saying that they never thought that they would be able to see such days in their lifetime. Many people say that. And there are two major reasons for this - first, the confidence of 130 crore people of India, that says – ‘Yes, it is India's moment’; and second - the thinking of 130 crore people of India, which says – ‘Nation first’ i.e. the country at the top, the country in the forefront.
Friends,
You might remember that a few years ago I had made a small appeal. And I had requested that whoever could afford, should give up his gas subsidy. That was a humble appeal; but after this appeal more than one crore people gave up their gas subsidy. This is what is 'Nation first'. Since July 2017, more than 63 lakhs senior citizens, who used to get subsidy on railway travels, voluntarily gave up that subsidy - that's Nation first. You might remember that a 105-year-old tribal woman sold her only means of earning a livelihood i.e. the goats to build toilets in her village. Toilets were built and the movement to build toilets had started - this is Nation first. Retired teachers of Pune had donated a large part of their pension for the cleanliness drive - isn't it Nation first? Some are leading the cleanliness drive for the beaches on their own. Some are teaching the poor children to create their future. Some are teaching digital transactions to the poor. Countless such things are going on in every corner of India, and that is what is known as Nation first. Friends this ‘Nation First’ is the dedication of every countryman towards nation building. There is a sense of responsibility towards our country which is giving new energy to India today. So the theme of the Summit that you have chosen this time – ‘India's moment, Nation first’ truly reflects the sentiments and aspirations of the country, that is, the mood of today's India as a whole.
Friends,
You have seen during this year's Lok Sabha elections, the level of confidence the public has in the work that we have done, following the spirit of Nation first. The people of the country know and believe that we have done the work by considering Nation First as our soul. Now with this mandate, we have been ordered to relentlessly work to fulfil the needs as well as the aspirations and expectations of the people. What are these expectations? These expectations are - to get the country out of the quagmire of decades-old challenges.
Friends,
When Nation is placed first, then our resolutions are also enormous and efforts to fulfil them are also massive. I would like to explain my point with some examples-
Friends,
You know very well how India has suffered due to Articles 370 and 35A and now you have also seen how this challenge has been resolved. Article 370 has been called temporary in our Constitution since day one, but it was nevertheless considered psychologically permanent because of the political selfishness of some people and some families. By doing so, they have insulted the spirit of the Constitution and have ignored it. The uncertainty created due to article 370 had encouraged the separatists there. Our Government has re-established the supremacy of the Constitution of the country by removing Article 370 and Article 35A. Now, new avenues of development have opened up in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Friends,
There was another issue before the country which had been going on for hundreds of years. Hearing was going on in different courts for decades. And I am referring to the Ayodhya case. The parties which were in power earlier did not show the willingness to resolve this sensitive and emotional issue. They were searching for votes in it, so they kept this issue hanging in the courts. There was no reason that this dispute would not have been resolved earlier. But the selfish politics of some political parties and organizations dragged the Ayodhya dispute for so long. If they could, these people would never have let this matter be solved.
Friends,
Some people have always created an artificial logic of fear in the country for gaining political brownie points and for keeping the important issues pending. If India does this then something wrong will happen; if something like this is decided in the country, then that will go wrong; there will be escalation, backlash and interference and so on. They used to justify their statements this way.
Friends,
Today marks the anniversary of the 26/11Mumbai attack. We know very well how softly the terrorists were treated after this attack. Now do I need to tell you how the country takes action against terror? All the logic that saved the terrorists from stern action has now come to an end.
Friends,
The issue of Triple Talaq was also dragged for so many decades not without a reason. The subject was also dragged as much as possible, and the same artificial logic of fear was given. Similarly, there was always an illusion about reservation for the poor. Those who are engaged in vote bank politics, sometimes provoke someone by making false promises, or scare someone for their personal gains. How long this thing could have gone? Be it Article 370, Ayodhya, triple talaq or reservation for the poor - the country has faced the old challenges, has taken resolute decisions and has moved ahead. And it is not that the anti-national forces have not tried to instigate the people or have not tried to provoke secessionism. All attempts and efforts have been made, but the public has thwarted their efforts and this very aspect of the people is known as Nation First. Today, the cycle of time can also see that when the nation is placed first, the country can take big decisions and go ahead by accepting those decisions.
Friends,
This mindset of a transforming India sends a very strong message to us, to you, and to every political party in the country. The people of the country do not want to be in trouble. They don't want to live in negativity. The people want to see only and only the development of the country.
Friends, the doors to new successes open only when the challenges in life are accepted. Now look at Arnab and his TV show which starts by opening so many wide windows and inviting so many guests. That's how Arnab's court begins its proceedings. And is it less risky? Arnab's guests also take the risk of appearing on his show. Well, jokes apart, Arnab had accepted the challenge and hence he was able to establish a network like Republic TV today!
Friends,
Our government has not only accepted the challenges, but has also made serious efforts to resolve them. I remember the situation after the formation of our government in 2014. An attempt was made to hide the scams involving the NPAs that were created during the previous government's regime. We found a way to deal with this scam by bringing it before the country. Now the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code  has ensured a recovery of around three lakh crore rupees. By the way, do you remember how some people had created a ruckus over the NPAs? It was a part of a pattern. Before every Parliament session, these people spread some new lie and then it is imposed on everyone. In one session, some news story will be printed in a favourite place or will come up with breaking news and then the entire eco-system will turn out that way. You guys create a backgrounder package in the media by connecting all the links. Try to recall, this is the same pattern that was followed for NPAs, for EVMs, as well as for Rafael. A few days ago, when the government had taken a historic decision of reducing corporate tax, a few similar attempts were made, and nowadays the Election Board has become their favourite.
Friends,
If something is happening in a transparent manner for a transparent system in the country, then some people feel hard to digest it. You tell me - you will remember the dispute over Aadhaar. These people had even approached the Supreme Court so that Aadhaar could not get legal recognition. These people had tried their best to malign Aadhaar.
Friends,
Today Aadhaar has become a great medium of ensuring the rights of the common man of the country. Moreover, the world is surprised by the data that we have with Aadhaar Biometric-identification. There is hardly any leader around the world who has not discussed about the subject of Aadhaar and the process of Aadhaar, its product. We have such an important asset but some people want to create controversy unnecessarily.
Friends,
What is the impact of Aadhaar here? I want to give a small example. You will be surprised to know that we had more than eight crore people on papers - more than eight crore - who were never born. They did not exist, yet got married on papers, widowed too, and the widow pension was being drawn on their names. These are the ones whose existence was only on papers. These people on papers used to take gas subsidy, pension, salary, scholarship, and other benefits from the treasury of the government. Now, I don't need to say where this money was going. Aadhaar helped a great deal in exposing this truth, and with this, about 1.5 lakh crores rupees - I repeat - 1.5 lakh crores were saved from getting into the wrong hands. Leakages were stopped and corruption ended. Rs.1.5 lakh crores is not a small figure. Year after year, almost the same amount was reaching the wrong hands and there was no way to stop it. We prevented this huge leakage in the system through Aadhaar. You can guess how many people would have faced losses because of that? In the minds of many people, we must be pricking like a thorn; but we did all this because - ‘Nation First'.
Friends,
These people never wanted GST to be implemented in the country. GST was considered as a very big political risk. Governments had lost in whichever country it was implemented. This challenge did not stop us; rather we implemented it in the interest of the country without worrying about political profit and loss. Today, due to the GST, an honest business culture is being strengthened in the country and inflation is being checked. It is probably not shown in the media. I don't know what is their problem? But, with great responsibility I am saying that today taxes on 99% of things concerning the ordinary citizens have been halved on an average compared to before. Today it is half of the price what it used to be before the implementation of GST. There was a time when refrigerators, mixers, juicers, vacuum cleaners, geysers, mobile phones, washing machines, watches - all were taxed more than 31 per cent. Today, on all these things a tax of only 10 to 12 per cent has been imposed. Earlier wheat, rice, curd, lassi, buttermilk - used to be taxed. Today, all these products are tax-free after GST.
Friends,
I want to give you another example - for decades there was a lot of uncertainty in the lives of lakhs of families in Delhi, that is, since the time India was partitioned. With the passage of time in independent India, their troubles also increased. People used to buy houses here with their hard-earned money, but they could not completely own them. This problem persisted. Our government has decided to put an end to this and now I am talking about Delhi alone. More than 50 lakh Delhiites are now confident of owning their houses and having a better life. Similarly for decades, the real estate sector of our country was operating without adequate regulation. People here are well aware of the fact how much the people of Delhi-NCR have borne the brunt of this. But this problem is all over the country. In order to change the age-old situation, our government has taken many decisions and has formulated several laws, including 'RERA'. Recently, the government has started raising about 25 thousand crores to complete the incomplete projects of the Real Estate. Certainly it will benefit our middle class and will help them in getting their dream houses. If we compare how the builders of those times flourished, how the clearances were received and the decisions of that period with the steps taken by of our government, it will be clear that what actually are the policies, direction and intent of those who follow the mantra of ‘Nation First’. How the welfare of common man can be ensured is derived from our mantra of 'Nation First'.
Friends,
Today the speed and scale at which the work is going on in India is unprecedented. Toilet facilities to 60 crore Indians in 60 months, connecting eight crore homes with free gas connection in less than three years, providing electricity to 18000 villages in less than 1000 days, providing more than 1.5 crore people with their houses in five years, connecting more than 37 crore poor people with banking system, the launch of Ayushman Bharat, the world's largest health insurance scheme, Providing free treatment up to Rs.5 lakhs to 50 crore people, Direct Benefit Transfer to the bank accounts of about 15 crore farmer families - you can plan and execute such schemes and programmes only if the mantra of ‘Nation First’ becomes the mantra of life for you and your entire team and when you look beyond self-interest and make 'Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas' the basis for your policies and politics.
Brothers and sisters, this thinking of Nation First has led to the elimination of the feeling of alienation and isolation in the North East, making it a new engine of growth for the country. This idea has taught us a lesson of working on the 112 Aspirational Districts of the country, which were left behind in the race of development, with a new approach.
Friends,
It was the idea of Nation First that prompted the redesigning of the decades-long vaccination campaign. We have not only increased the number of vaccines to protect against life-threatening diseases, but the Mission Indradhanush has also extended the vaccination campaign to far-flung areas.
Friends,
Nation First showed us the way to increase maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks so that mothers can have time to take adequate care of their newborns. This idea showed us the way to build separate toilets for girls in every school so that girls do not have to drop out from schools.
Friends,
It was this spirit of Nation First that created more than 37 crore bank accounts to connect the poor with the banking system. The common man of the country could also easily undertake digital transactions. With the same idea, RuPay cards were issued and the BHIM app was launched. You will be happy to know that so far more than 55 crore RuPay debit cards have been issued in the country and the market share of this card is now reaching 30%. RuPay Card is slowly moving towards becoming a Global Brand.
Brothers and sisters,
This idea of Nation First started the Jal Jeevan Mission. In the coming days, about 3.5 lakh crore rupees will be spent on this mission so that people in the remote areas of the country can get clean drinking water and the water can reach every household.
Friends,
With the intention of making life easier for people and increasing their income, the country has set a goal of making India a $ 5 trillion economy today. I believe that working with the spirit of Nation First, we will get fair results for every decision and the country will achieve every goal.
Friends,
I hope that with this spirit, the new possibilities of New India and new opportunities will be discussed in detail in this Summit. And once again on Constitution Day, I express my gratitude to you all that I got the opportunity to meet the Republic family and to share my message with your audience spread across the country and the world through your network. I am thankful to you for this, and I wish you all the very best.
I am also very grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to speak here.
Thanks a lot.